Racism In Black Athena

It is quite rare to be enrolled in a history class that does not, even briefly, expose students to the essence of Greek society; we are often taught to appreciate the influence that the Greeks had on the development of the western world. Martin Bernal, in his work Black Athena, sheds new light on this matter, offering evidence that suggests our beliefs about the origin of Greek culture are misconstrued. Bernal successfully argues that, contrary to the widely believed and racism-laced Aryan Model, the Egyptians and Phoenicians played a significant role in the development of Greek society; this argument is strengthened by the author’s incorporation of evidence derived from his interpretations of primary sources, his use of chronology, as well as his discussion about the role of racism in the replacement of the model. Black Athena is partly comprised of information from primary sources which Bernal has …show more content…
If this was the dominant understanding of the Euro-American past – that colored people laid out the foundation for European society – there may not be such a rift between races because it would be understood that colored people provided the base for what is our society today, and then whites and blacks alike helped it to thrive. At the University of Michigan, one may see more colored people enrolled in school, as financial troubles and poor educational opportunities may not pose the same issues for a substantial percentage of this group that they do today. It would be a societal norm that people of all races are treated with respect, and the material students learn about in class may reflect a very different relationship between races throughout the course of